Page 48

John

H ours after my graveside visit, I was near the end of a midnight patrol. Ghost didn’t seem to mind the late-night shifts, but I was fucking wiped. I knew it was a standard test for new recruits, to push us a little and see if we could cope, but I’d be damn glad when it was over.

I rode towards the Lodge, where we normally did our shift change.

Danny was supposed to relieve me. I had a feeling that he’d scheduled himself on more night shifts just to see me.

It was like old times. We sometimes had a quick bite to eat together before he relieved me.

Other than that, the only other person on patrol tonight was Sadie, a tall, sharp woman who had four kids and took zero shit from anyone.

I spotted him standing outside the Lodge with his horse, Bolt, geared up to go. He waved me over. As Ghost and I pulled up beside them, both our radios came to life at once.

“Star to Command, reporting suspicious smoke in Summerhurst area. Investigating.”

My heart leapt, and Danny frowned .

“Received,” he said into his radio. “You smell smoke?”

The reply took a minute, but eventually, Sadie said, “That’s a yes, Command. Will update when I know more.”

I turned Ghost around, then galloped towards home. I heard Danny call after me, but I didn’t stop. Might’ve been insubordination, but I couldn't make myself care. My fiancée and my sister were at home, asleep, and I wasn’t going to wait for permission to help them.

Hooves beat the ground behind me, and I knew that Danny was following. We raced toward Summerhurst, and as we got closer, a column of smoke appeared, rising into the night sky. It was hard to see in the dark, but Sadie had a keen eye. Sure enough, my radio crackled to life again at my hip.

“Command, smoke is confirmed to be a fire. Looks like an outbuilding at Summerhurst. Alerting residents now.”

“Shit,” I muttered, urging Ghost to go faster, even though she was already galloping at full speed. I lifted my radio to my lips. “Star, this is Ghost. Confirm resident safety. Please.”

The silence that followed was torture, even though it was unlikely Claire or Kimmy would be near an outbuilding at this time of night.

Ten minutes later, I was on the homestead.

The air smelled like a bonfire, which wasn’t a good sign, and as I got closer to the house, orange flames lit up the night.

The woodshed was ablaze. By the look of it, we’d missed the worst of the fire; the shed was already black and partly collapsed.

A second later, the radio buzzed again. “Resident safety confirmed, Ghost. No fire near the farmhouse. Awaiting orders from command.”

I let out a long breath. At least they’re okay.

“Stay with the residents, Star,” Danny answered, and when I looked over my shoulder, he was coming up behind me. “Ghost, go home for now. I’ll investigate further.”

Good. I needed to see my family, orders or not. There was no saving the woodshed, no point in risking our lives for a pile of ashes. Letting the fire burn itself out was probably safest; the shed wasn’t close enough to the other buildings to spread. Thank fuck for that.

I rode to the farmhouse, where the lights were on, and Star waited outside. I slowed Ghost to a trot, then left her beside Star before running up the porch steps and bursting through the front door.

Sadie was in the foyer with Claire and Kimmy.

Kimmy had her winter jacket on over her linen pyjamas and winter boots on her feet.

Claire stood beside her in her nightgown, wide-eyed, a wool blanket from our bed wrapped around her shoulders.

To my surprise, Asha was also there, fully dressed. I hadn’t seen her in a few days.

“John,” Kimmy said on seeing me. “What’s going on?”

I crossed the room to reach Claire before answering. “The woodshed’s on fire. We don’t know how it happened yet. Doesn’t seem like anything else is burning, though.”

I took Claire’s hand in mine, and she squeezed it. She looked afraid.

Sadie lifted her radio and said, “Star to command. Do you need help out there?”

“Star and Ghost, head to the woodshed,” came Danny’s reply. “Bring residents with you. There’s something you should see.”

That couldn’t mean anything good. Claire shot me a worried look, and I kissed the top of her head before releasing her hand.

“Bundle up,” I told her, keeping my voice calm. “Ghost is outside. Sadie and I can take you all there.”

A few minutes later, we were on horseback again, heading towards the charred remains of the woodshed. When we got there, Danny was standing beside Bolt, holding a misshapen object, blackened by fire. The fire had mostly died out on its own, with only a few hot spots left.

I dismounted, then helped Claire down. Behind us, Sadie, Kimmy, and Asha did the same.

“Think I found the source of the fire,” Danny said, holding up what looked like a partly melted lantern. “Any of you leave a lantern in the woodshed?”

Oh, fuck. I glanced at Claire, who’d turned as white as the snow around us. It was only a quick look, but I knew Kimmy had noticed it, because she frowned.

“I did,” Claire said, in the smallest voice I’d ever heard her use. “But I blew it out first.”

“You sure?” Danny said skeptically, but not unkindly. “I know I’ve forgotten a candle or two in the past myself. It’s easy for that to slip your mind sometimes, especially if you’re just going through the motions.”

“I—” Claire started, but she faltered. “I don’t know. ”

“You could’ve burned down the whole Valley,” Sadie snapped, accusatory, and that got my back up immediately.

“Hey—” I started, but Asha interjected, “We don’t use candles in the compound. We never used anything with an open flame like that. It’s understandable that Claire would forget. It’s not her fault.”

I wracked my brain, but I couldn’t remember if Claire had extinguished the lantern earlier. I should’ve paid better attention, but I’d been preoccupied.

“So, the compound robs you of common fucking sense?” Sadie shot back, throwing up her hands, then turned back on Claire. “You’re supposed to be convincing us that you won’t pose a threat here. This is not a good look.”

Claire put on a brave face, but I saw the slightest tremor in her hands.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said quietly, “but I know I blew that lantern out.”

“Look, Claire,” Kimmy said, “it’s okay if you just forgot. People make mistakes.”

“But I didn’t!” Claire insisted, wringing her hands.

Sadie moved toward Claire, and she instinctively took a step back.

“So, the woodshed just burnt itself down—”

“That’s enough,” I cut in, stepping between them. “It’s my lantern. So, if it was left out, blame me.”

“You just gonna let this stand, Danny?” Sadie asked, whipping around to face him.

I looked at Danny, who’d been watching the whole thing carefully. He met my eye, frowning. For once, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“The woodshed is Summerhurst property,” he said after a beat. “And it looks like this was just an accident—”

“But—”

“— regardless of how exactly it happened,” he continued loudly, talking over Sadie. “Since it’s Summerhurst property, and they don’t have a complaint to report, there’s nothing else for us to do here. So, move out.”

Sadie looked like she wanted to argue some more, but Danny gave her an icy look that screamed insubordination , and she clammed up. She mounted Star, and with one last irritated look in Claire’s direction, took off into the night.

Danny let out a long breath. “Damn. I need a drink.”

“Me too,” Kimmy said, rubbing her eyes.

Between Danny and me, we got everyone back up to the house. Right as Danny was about to leave, he turned back to Claire.

“Just so you know, it’s okay,” he said warmly. “Shit happens. No one was hurt. Try not to take it too hard; just be more careful in future.”

Claire opened her mouth as if to reply, but then her shoulders slumped in defeat, and she nodded. He left, closing the door behind him, and the four of us stood in the foyer for a minute, staring after him.

I didn’t know what to think. On the one hand, I still couldn't remember if Claire extinguished the lantern…and a few nights ago, she had left a candle lit when she fell asleep. That wasn’t the kind of thing she did a lot, but…

was it that much of a stretch that she’d just forgotten about the lantern?

On the other hand, something felt off to me in a way I couldn’t put my finger on.

If it really was the lantern, why hadn’t it caught sooner?

In theory, it’d already been burning for hours by the time I left for patrol that night.

And why hadn’t I noticed the light when I left?

By that time, it was totally dark, and even a small light from the woodshed should’ve been obvious.

“Well, I’m going to bed,” Asha said, arms folded over her chest. “Thrilled that the whole place is gonna think Claire and I tried to burn it down now. I’m sure that’ll endear them to us, especially since they were already so happy to have us here.”

She turned on her heel and went upstairs. Kimmy hesitated, but with a parting look at Claire, followed her.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Claire said, “John, I didn’t forget to put out the lantern. I know I didn’t.”

I rubbed my temples. “Are you completely sure?”

The hurt in her eyes caught me off guard. “Yes, I’m sure. I’ve gone through it a hundred times in my head, and I know what I did. I’m not that stupid. Please.”

That nagging sense that something wasn’t right was still there, and I sighed .

“I believe you, baby,” I replied, and I meant it. I gathered her against me, feeling her relax at my touch. “I just…I’m not sure what it means. Maybe Danny was wrong, and something else caused it, but…”

“It has to have been the Jamesons,” Claire said anxiously. “Especially Zach. They’re the ones leading the charge against me.”